Torn Strings
by SmileRen
Summary: Keeva is an intense, modest woman hidden behind a poker face. In a strange turn of events she finds herself in a different world and in order to make up for the damage she has caused, she finds herself working as a housekeeper for a witch that grants wishes. (WARNING: contains an oc and interactions with different CLAMP manga)
1. Chapter 1

The air is crisp as I walk along the near deserted streets at five minutes to midnight on New Year's. Honestly, with a holiday like this you'd think people would be everywhere, rejoicing and drinking and having fun.

Mostly it's indoors, and with this chill I'm not surprised. It's got to be around ten degrees or less or something like that. I duck down an alley and can see the abandoned church of St. Peters, going through the yard would bring me that much closer to my house where it was safe and warm.

I wrap my coat around me tighter as I walk down the beaten path leading up to the door, I'm about to duck to the side and would go along the forgotten side to the back where I'd jump the fence when I see something flicker from inside of the church. Stopping, I gaze into the window, but it's so dark I can't see a thing.

Backtracking I go to the door, maybe some stupid kids were inside, planning to burn it down or something. The door opens with a creak, and its dead silent inside. "Hello? Is anyone there?" I ask, walking in, just a few steps and I'm at the entrance of the chapel, the floor was solid cement, unusual and probably frigid, I don't take much notice as I start walking further in.

I run a hand along the top of a forgotten pew, dust coating it as I run the palm of my hand across it. It's cold. "Ow," I withdraw my hand back, a jagged cut ran across the side of my palm, I hiss, already it was gushing into my cupped hand. The smooth pew gave no clue as to how I'd injured myself, stepping back something slides around my foot and I fall.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow. Why is this happening to me?" I complain, falling on my hand, I'd barely managed to hit the ground without clubbing my head on another pew. The freezing cement floor was like solid ice on my bare skin, like it was sucking the warmth straight from my fingertips.

Sitting up, I press my palms to the cement to gain my balance, and suddenly light starts emitting from the ground. Lines slowly curving around on the surface like moving snakes, glowing faintly with a soft white, like the moon that cast it's gaze inside here through the windows.

Suddenly I'm in the center of an intricate looking circle, my first thought is a pentagon, and suddenly the white leaves the ground. Little balls of white slowly floating up, as if snowing in reverse, and swarming around me in the air.

"What the-"

I hear the gong of an old father clock, at that instant I think, Midnight. And then the white is gone, and it's bright. Brighter than it should be for January 1st at exactly midnight. What on earth? I blink, my eyes adjusting, and I stop. Looking around I'm gazing around a small housed in area, green grass on either side of me as I sit on a cobbled path leading up to an old styled Japanese house. A five foot fence running around the edge of the entire estate.

"Oh, a visitor!" Chimed two young voices, the door pulls back and two little girls stand there, one with short pink hair that gently curved around her small face, and the other with long blue hair pulled into curly (Or maybe frizzy, it's so tightly wound) pigtails. On both of them were a set of wings, white angelic ones on the pink girl, and black bat ones on the blue girl.

"Come in, come in," They say as I stand up.

I take this chance to look around, it had to be spring or something, it's warm, almost too warm in my winter coat, and the grass is perfectly green and the sun is shining as if it's late morning or early afternoon. Quickly I peer at my watch on my wrist.

It's stopped. The glass cracked and the hands frozen in the position of 11:59 exactly.

"Where…am I?" I ask.

"This is a wish shop," They say in unison, which I won't deny, is pretty freaking creepy. Like they might suddenly decide to kill me with hidden knives at any moment. From where I stood they looked like perfectly normal little girls, but I couldn't shake the feeling that they were off. As is they weren't.

"Come in," A voice said, it wasn't from either of the girls, it was an older, slightly deeper and much more feminine voice, it seemed to waft on the air like fine perfume, and it seemed to draw me towards the store.

My legs move automatically. I don't know why, it just feels right to walk towards this building, towards the girls and the voice.

Soon enough I'm being led through the store to a room where a woman sits in an luxurious bed, her cloths are fancy even though it seemed like she'd been sleeping or some other such thing. "So you're the one who's done it." She said, hers was the voice from earlier.

"Well you've gone and done it my dear, pacing through the gates to a different realm is one thing, but causing so much havoc is another thing. The price for this is high, I hope you can pay it." She sat up, an old traditional looking pipe in her hands, she puffs out a plume of smoke.

"What?" I ask. This makes no sense, how I was in an abandoned church just moments ago and now I'm here with some woman in a store(?) in a completely different realm, is totally beyond me.

She come near me and jabs her pipe at me, her long black hair trails down her back, ornaments hung high in place on her head. She was really quite lovely I suppose. "By coming here you've sent the whole system into darkness, clocks are breaking, mirrors cracking to pieces and gates closing. Not only that, but wards are falling." As if on cue the store shook for a brief moment, I fall to my knees on the floor.

"Maru, Moro, come here," She said, the little girls came to her and she patted them both on the head, "Go rest, alright?" She said, and they nodded and climbed into the bed before falling asleep.

"What is your name girl?" She asked. Her eyes were cold, a sort of maturity one could only achieve by living many many years and going through so very much.

"K-Keeva." I say. She kneels down before me, her pipe in hand. "I'm Yuko. A pleasure to meet you. This is my store, I grant the hearts most fervent wish." As she spoke plumes of smoke slowly fell out of her mouth, going upwards in spirals as the white had done. "You want to know why you're here, how you can get home and… oh my, that's quite an interesting wish you have locked up in your heart."

I fall back on my butt. How did she know-

"I can read people," She said as if reading my mind as well. "Don't be afraid, I only want to help. However, you have a mess to clean up. The price for coming here is steep, I hope you can pay it." She extends me a hand and I take it, she helps me to my feet effortlessly.

"What do you mean, pay?" I say, I hadn't a cent on me, and I still don't know what exactly she's talking about.

"Coming here cost's a price, something dear to you, or something of equivalent exchange. However if you cannot pay, I have ways of helping with that." She placed the pipe in her mouth, it hung there like anything else, and if it had been anyone but her, it would have looked disgusting, trashy even. But with her it looked normal, even though I'd only just met her.

"Come," She takes my hand and leads me out of the room, "we have much to discuss."

-0-0-0-

I'm sitting on the edge of a hall on the outside of the backyard; this is like a porch that extends around the entire side of the back. Yuko-san is yards away next to a bird bath, or what would resemble one, it was much fancier than what a bird would bathe in.

Her back was to me so I couldn't really see what she was doing. I kick my feet back and forward, they swing just above the ground.

I'm over heating in my winter coat but I don't care, I keep it on, if only to keep my sanity. It's January, at least where I'm from, in my head it still feels like that and therefor I let it cover my shoulders in this surprisingly pleasant heat.

"This, my dear, is a web." Yuko-san said, and suddenly something shot up into the air, like a hologram. IT was just like a web, lines crossing and connecting and linking into a tiny intricate map that sat in the air, a slight jolt make it waver for a moment.

Standing and coming close I stare at it, it was being projected from the pool of water. "The balance of the gate's opening and locking system is slowing and stopping, locking people in one place and preventing people from entering or leaving their destination. These," She pointed to spaces where the links were severed, "are you're doing. They are gates that are closed because of your coming here." By pointing them out I suddenly noticed the amount of them. So many were there that I'm surprised I hadn't noticed it earlier. There had to be a closed gate at every other adjoining path.

And it was all my fault.

"You started here," She poked a place in the web, a tiny speck of a connected space, "and this is where you are now." She dragged her hand along from the dot near the bottom corner to the center of the map, "Can you tell me what you remember before you got here?" she looked at me.

The web flickered again and she turned back to the web and stared at it for a long time.

"I really don't know, I was in an old church and I cut my hand," I hold up my hand, the cut was already closing and a thick scab was all that remained. "There was a web like this, almost exactly like it, and it just started making itself out of white lines when I pressed my hands to the floor. When it stopped making itself I was sitting directly in the middle, where you said this space is."

Yuko-san's eyes fixated on me for a moment. "I think that was a self-made gate. They're rare, but select humans can create them, it involves an initial cost, I suspect your blood." She took my hand and examined it before she pushed the sleeve of my coat back up my arm. A tiny black dot, no bigger than a pin prick was on the skin above the joint of my wrist. "This dot is the contract of your passage." She explained.

"What does that mean?" I asked, her hands were cool, as if she didn't feel the heat.

She was silent, staring at it for a moment until she slapped my forehead with the palm of my hand. "Don't worry about it, as long as you pay the exchange, you'll be fine." She said, dragging the last word out. "Anyway, it's about time I got some sake before the mood gets to dire. Want any?" She said, starting for the porch which she took the steps up, her pipe in hand.

What? That's quite a personality change. I took a long last glance at my wrist before following Yuko-san. For a second, I thought it'd gotten bigger by just a hair. Maybe I'm over thinking it, but this is all too weird.

Before I slip into the open door I turn to see the map flicker once more before vanishing.

**-0-0-0-0-0-**

**SmileRen:** And that's chapter 1! ALL credit goes to LovinoMargarita. No seriously, get on your knees and thank her. I may have created the plot and oc but she wrote it.

Please review!

**OC:**

**Name:** Keeva Asamura  
**Age:** 18  
**Gender:** Female  
**Nationality:** Irish-Japanese  
**Unique abilities:** Super strength, sixth sense  
**Hobbies:** Martial arts  
**Hair:** Bright orange  
**Eyes:** Blank green  
**Height:** 6' 2  
**Personality:** Extremely shy. She may be poker faced and she may have a foul temper but Keeva is extremely shy. When she meets someone for the first time she acts hostile, immediately clams up and avoids them at all costs. Once she gets to know them, she opens up and acts more civil.  
**Information:** Keeva is a young woman who has somehow managed to punch a hole within the dimensional plane despite her severe lack of magic or spiritual energy. She has a younger twin sister who has been missing for two years after vanishing at a convenience store.

**Glossary:**

**Yūko Ichihara** _(壱原侑子)_, also known as the **Dimensional Witch** or the **Space-Time Witch**, is a mysterious woman who resides in modern day Japan. Yuuko is a crossover character from xxxHolic.

An enigmatic, powerful and fashionable sorceress, she is one of the main characters in _xxxHolic_ and a very important person in the storyline of _Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle_. She is known by many names throughout the multiverse, most notably as "The Dimension Witch" —a title that reflects her unique reach in time and space. She has also been called The Far Eastern Witch as one of her aliases. However, she also claims that her name, "Yūko Ichihara", is just an adopted name, meaning her true name is unknown. The "侑" character of Yūko's first name translates as "to help, assist, repay kindness," coinciding with her roles as wish-granter and Watanuki's mentor.

**Maru and Moro (Marudashi and Morodashi)** are two young girls created by Yuko Ichihara and are helpers of the shop. Since they were created by Yuko's powers, they do not have souls and so they cannot leave the shop and they cannot touch any of the Mokona Modoki. The whole point of Maru and Moro's exsistence is to hold the shop up. They use all their energy to keep the shop alive and visible to customers, but because of all the power they use, they must take long naps in order to regain their strength.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the CLAMP manga or their characters that may appear in this story. If I did, Keeva would be an official xxxHolic character ^_^**

**-0-0-0-**

Yuko-san and I sit in the backyard on the hall/porch . I was against it at first, mainly because I'm under aged, but the sake is nice albeit, even though I've only had a bit and Yuko-san's had two bottles already.

"Oh yeah, I forgot," Yuko-san says, "we need to discuss the terms of your payment for ripping the space time continuum, or a better term would be the coexistence equilibrium. Either way, you've done a fairly good job of sending decades of meticulous work and gate making and not to mention so much magic down the drain. It'll be a pretty hefty amount too."

I gulp down my shot of sake and think about that for a moment. I had nothing of any material value on me. "Uh, how much am I supposed to pay?" I ask, setting my cup down. She pours more in before sighing and kicking a leg off the side of the porch. "It's quite a lot." Yuko-san said. I took the plunge and asked for an estimate. "Roughly it would be about 6.5 trillion yen.

I just sit there quietly, thinking 'Oh great, I'm so far in debt they'll sink me to the bottom of Tokyo bay' when Yuko-san chuckles. "But that's not what you'll be paying my dear. This is a wish shop, money doesn't work here. Something of equivalent exchange must be paid, too much or too little is never allowed either way." Hmm… …"I really have nothing on me," I say.

"Anything is accepted: limbs, dreams, words, a promise." Yuko-san said, "Memories." That last one got me. "Ones you can't forget, both ones that are painful or dear will work." Yuko-san says.

A million ones run in my head, middle school graduation, asking that boy out two months ago, when I broke my leg, when I accidently broke a kid's wrist, my birthday party two years ago, when Hokuto- "No, sorry, I have a lot of things, but…" Something cherished, I only have a few. I can't afford to lose Hokuto anymore than I have.

"Well, then I have an idea as to how you can pay." Yuko-san explains. "You can work here in my shop until you've worked off your debt." "That doesn't sound too bad." I say, emptying my glass. "Great, you'll have fun, I just know. Alright Keeva dear?" Yuko-san winks at me before bringing the bottle to her lips. I can't stifle a laugh that bubbles out.

-0-0-0-

_That night, as I slept in my new room, I had a strange dream... ... ... I'm falling… … … …where am I?_

_What was I just doing? I hear the gong of an old father clock and at that instant I think, Midnight. And then the white is gone, and it's bright, brighter than it should be for January 1st at exactly midnight._

_What on earth? I blink, my eyes adjusting, and I stop. Looking around I'm gazing around a small housed in area, green grass on either side of me as I sit on a cobbled path leading up to an old styled Japanese house._

_A five foot fence running around the edge of the entire estate. "Oh, a visitor!" Chimed two young voices, the door pulls back and two little girls stand there, one with short pink hair that gently curved around her small face, and the other with long blue hair pulled into curly (or maybe frizzy, it's so tightly wound) pigtails._

_On both of them were a set of wings, white angelic ones on the pink girl, and black bat ones on the blue girl. They looked familiar. Just who were they? "Come in," they chime once more, my legs move on their own and I'm being led into the shop by the small girls. One on each hand, dragging me further and further into the shop. Suddenly we're in a room where a boy with short black hair and glasses sits. He takes a pipe from his mouth and exhales a plume of smoke. "What's this?" He asks._

_He sounds just as young as he looks. "Uh…" I'm dumb struck, not sure exactly I'm supposed to say or so, so I just ask, "Where am I?" "Tokyo. And you are?" He prompts, pointing his pipe towards me a bit. "K-Keeva. What is this place?" I say, pulling my coat around me closer. "This is my wish shop. I'm Kimihiro, but you can call me Watanuki."_

_"Idiot! Idiot!" The girls chime, and he snaps at them as if from practice and they run away gleefully. "Anyway, it seems you're here for a reason. Let me see your hand." He says, standing and comes over to where I stand. His hand comes towards me and I back up._

_"It's alright, I just want to see your hand." He says, and I tentatively give him my hand, he over turns it to the wrist up, and just below my broken watch there's a black dot._

_It began swirling on my wrist, like a moving tattoo, and he puffed more smoke. The edges of the mark extended, like waves, and grew longer and thicker, extending up my wrist. "That's enough of that," He said, pressing his index finger to the heart of it, it looked like it was being fought back, forced back into a dot on my wrist._

_"What the-" I yank my hand back, holding it to myself, the dot no longer moved. What the hell was that? "If you remain in this time, it will only get worse. Maru, Moro, come here." He said. Taking my hand once more Watanuki brought me to the back yard of the shop. In the middle of the yard was a stone bird bath._

_The girls were there beside us as Watanuki takes something from his sleeve and drops it into the bath. A red pebble. It swirled in the pool and made it blood red. Something rose from the top, like smoke, it took the shape of a butterfly and fluttered out of the pool, a bloody red colour._

_"This will take you to a woman named 'Yuuko'; there she can deal with this mark." Watanuki lifted my wrist; the dot seemed to be buzzing on my skin. "This time is too close to your own, so going back will stop the advancement of it for a while."_

_The butterfly stopped on my hand, "Take heed of what you've done there, and don't forget-" Watanuki started saying, but suddenly it's white around me, swirling like a whirlwind that I can see. He's cut off, the wind keeping him out, and the butterfly starts flying in the space inside of the whirlwind where I am._

_"What!? What did you-?" I can't get the sentence out before its black all around me hold for the red butterfly, it flutters away, and I chase after it and suddenly, I'm falling… … … …where am I? What was I just doing?_

_I hear the gong of an old father clock and at that instant I think, Midnight. And then the white is gone, and it's bright, brighter than it should be for January 1st at exactly midnight. What on earth?_

_I blink, my eyes adjusting, and I stop. Looking around I'm gazing around a small housed in area, green grass on either side of me as I sit on a cobbled path leading up to an old styled Japanese house. A five foot fence running around the edge of the entire estate._

_"Oh, a visitor!" Chimed two young voices, the door pulls back and two little girls stand there, one with short pink hair that gently curved around her small face, and the other with long blue hair pulled into curly (or maybe frizzy, it's so tightly wound) pigtails._

_On both of them were a set of wings, white angelic ones on the pink girl, and black bat ones on the blue girl. They looked familiar, just who were they?_

_I'm on the brink of remembering and then, I wake up._

-0-0-0-

That had only been three days ago and since then I've run more errands for Yuuko than ever before in my life. They were usually separated into two categories, normal and abnormal. The normal ones were usually just shopping for groceries and whatnot, easy enough to be perfectly honest.

The abnormal ones however, were the real challenge. They often involved me going on supernatural deliveries that often brought me face to face with some of the nasty ones of the massive amount of spirits in this place. I never knew Tokyo had such a massive amount of supernatural creatures.

To counter this problem, Yuuko gave me a Japanese parasol which had paper charms wrapped around the entire wooden handle. It was a deep blue and decorated with moving butterfly and flower patterns-other people didn't seem to see them move- and I had taken to carrying it with me at all times. Even on a normal errand like the one I'm on right now.

Grocery shopping, easy right?

Not when you're doing Yuuko's shopping. The list is a mile long, or about four hands long at least, most of it was liquor, Yuko-san knows the owner so it didn't matter that I wasn't twenty-one.

I lug the bags going all the way up my elbows on both arms, somehow balancing my parasol in between them, into the store front. Just inside of the fence I drop them, heaving for breath. It was a nice day, I admit, warm and sunny and I was starting to get used to the fact that I was stuck here.

"Keeva! Keeva! Come play with us!" a joyous choir of bubbling delight floated on the air as I was suddenly attacked by the two little girls of the shop. Maru on one side and Moro on the other, hugging me tightly. I admit, they were a lot cuter now than my first impression of them.

"Fine, fine, what do you want to play?" I say, they help me free the bags from my arms and I rub the red line imprints from the bags. I'd rolled the sleeves of my faded blue shirt down to cover the marks, it was a bit warm in it, but I didn't care. "Tag!" They cried in unison. "You be the oni!" They chime.

I stand straight up and put my hands on my hips. I knew the game, but I haven't heard it called that in a while. But this is japan, the person who's it is the oni or demon who chases the other children and tries to capture them. "Ahhhhhh!" They chime, running away before I could even try a thing.

"So this is how it's gonna be huh? Fine by me." I say before chasing after them, they duck into the open shop doors and I follow in pursuit, I lose my shoes in the doorway and my socks slip on the smooth floors which I'd waxed that morning.

All that work gone to waste.

Through the giant store we go. Finally we're in the backyard and they jump off the ledge of the porch and I bound, lose my footing at the end. I topple off, falling in the two girls. "Ow…" I complain, and then realize what I'm on and roll off quickly. "Sorry, are you alright?" I say, they bust out giggling.

"They're tougher than they look." Yuko-san says, she lay on her side with her pipe in one hand, sunning herself on the porch. "Our turn!" I'm suddenly tackled to the ground by the two, and I start laughing too. When was the last time I just let go like this? It feels like forever…

I'm pulled from my thoughts as Yuuko-san stands up. "We have a customer, Maru, Moru please go greet our guests. Keeva, be a dear and go make some tea for our guest" she states before heading into the house.

Nodding I walk down the hall, picking up the grocery bags I'd left on the floor and headed into the small kitchen. It's the first time Yuuko has had a customer since I arrived and I'm a bit excited. I hum gently as I set the bags on the bench and begin preparing the tea and after a few minutes, head down the hall.

I'm walking down the hall, carefully balancing the china tea pot and the cups on a small round tray when I hear Moru and Maru cheerfully announcing a guest for the mistress while someone –the guest I presume- is screaming and saying his legs brought him here of their own accord.

I round the corner to see Maru and Moru pulling a black haired boy with glasses down the hall. He freezes comically at the sight of me which is odd since he's still walking. "I swear my legs did it!" he shouts. Obviously panicked, I guess I can't really blame him.

"Calm down," I say, as we all stop in front of a pair of paper screen doors with a painted moon and red clouds. "It is because you were fated to come here" Yuuko's voice resounds from the other side.

Maru and Moru pull open the doors to reveal Yuuko, lounging on her little couch, gently smoking her pipe. She actually looks seriously cool.

The room is filled with smoke and the guest waves his hands in front of his face in a poor attempt to bat the smoke away. Yuuko-san observed him from her perch through sleepy looking red eyes, slowly blowing smoke from her painted lips.

Feet padding quietly I stride over to the couch and set the tea tray to the side on a small table before sitting cross legged on the floor next to Yuuko.

"Fated?" The boy asks wearing a confused frown on his face.

"Fate: an event that must happen no matter what; nothing will happen without it, many things can be imagined from what is seen" She pauses "That, was from the Japanese Learning Dictionary, second edition" I barely stifle a giggle at the look on his face.

"What"? This time he's wearing a sharp from.

"….You really are a dull boy" Yuuko states rather plainly. "Dull boy! Dull boy!" Maru and Moru chant dancing to the side. "So what if I am?!" He roars in self-defence.

"I'm definitely not a guest" He goes on to explain "It's just some strange things happened after I touched the wall. My feet brought themselves in, it may not sound sane but that's what happened"

Yuuko smirks "The fence is a boundary" "What?" "Kekkai: When Buddist Priests pray; in order to eliminate disturbances, they create an area which has no entrance but both an inside and an out, quote from-" She doesn't even get to finish explaining because he's already screaming again.

"You don't have to explain it!" He looks extremely frustrated now.

"You are also impatient" The look on Yuuko's face is completely blank as she says this. "Impatient! Impatient!" Maru and Moru cheer again. "You don't have to do that either!"

"Your name?" Yuuko-san's demeanour changes and she's oddly serious.

"Huh? Kimihiro Watanuki." He says reluctantly. He's so familiar but I can't put my finger on it!

"Watanuki is read April 1st, right? And your birthday?" Yuko-san asks. Watanuki looks pained as he answers "A-april 1st!"

"Tee hee! You do realised you just gave your name and birthday to a complete stranger don't you? What a foolish boy!" Yuuko bursts out into laughter. "You're the one who asked!" He attempt to defend himself.

"So, if you give someone your name, they can take your soul. If you give someone your birthday, they can control your life" "What?" Watanuki frowns looking disturbed.

There's a moments silence.

"Why don't you ask my name?" Yuuko pouts, "I don't want to know it" He states this rather bluntly. "My name is Yuuko Ichihara" "And she tells me anyway"

"Naturally, it's an alias" "Then what was the point of telling me at all?!"

Her hand pats me on the head as I take a sip of tea "This young lady is Keeva Asamura, she is an employee's here" "Eh? A foreigner?"

"These two are Maru and Moru, their full names are Marudashi and Morudashi, cute names don't you agree?" "Their names are what?! This is getting ridicules, sorry for disturbing you!" He makes to leave before Yuuko's voice stops him.

"Ah, but you have a wish that you want to be granted correct?" Yuko-san says. "I can grant it, but for a price. Something of equivalent exchange and of equal value. Nothing more or less." Yuko-san says, saying the same thing she had told me when I'd first entered the shop.

"What? Soliciting money from minors?!" Watanuki says, for a moment he's not a scared cat, but a pissed of tanuki. "The spirits you see, their attracted to your families blood, you wish you couldn't see them"

"That watch will do, hand it over. Or do you not want to have your wish granted? By all means, I won't stop you from seeing those beasts every waking second. I will not intrude on your life of running away, unless you ask me to." Yuko-san says this in such a placid way.

Watanuki went silent for a long moment before pulling out an old pocket watch; I noted how it still rhythmically ticked away. I lift my own wrist and see that mine is broken, the hands frozen in place just before midnight.

"Of course for something as steep as your wish, this will not cover it all. You may work at my shop to help, if that is what you deem fit for your wish to be granted." Yuko-san continued.

"How long?"

"Until enough has been earned on your behalf." Yuko-san's eyes were slits at that moment, and Watanuki nodded.

"Good!" She smiled, her cold gaze gone, "Keeva, Watanuki, go get some sake, we should celebrate!" Yuko-san says; a smirk on her pretty face. I nod and get up, extend a hand to Watanuki and grin.

"Welcome to the shop, Watanuki!"

-0-0-0-

(10 years into the future)

Watanuki frowned deeply, staring at the space where the girl had been. He knew exactly who she was, he could never forget the first time he'd ever truly met her, all those years ago…. …. ….

"Tsk. I didn't finish." Watanuki said. "Hold onto what's important, If you forget, the mark will devour you whole."

"Watanuki-kun, I'm back with the shopping, Watanuki-kun?" he blinked, snapping out of his frown and smiled lightly as he heard a voice from the front door. Shaking his head lightly he turned on his heel and walked down the hall towards the shop's front door to greet the person who'd just arrived.

"Welcome back, Keeva"

**-0-0-0-**

**Glossary:**

**Watanuki** **Kimihiro: **is a fictional character in the CLAMP manga, and anime: _xxxHolic_. He is almost always referred to by his last name, Watanuki. He becomes the owner of the shop after Yuko's death, after his parents cease to exist. He chooses to stay there until he finds a way to see Yuko again (as, by this time, his status as an anomaly in space-time is made greater, as is Syaoran's). Watanuki continues to grant wishes in the shop, although often taking too little or too much as prices. He gets along better with Doumeki as now he acts like someone completely different and quite mature, he doesn't hide his emotions and stops making movements and weird expressions. He tries not to get hurt when granting wishes, since everyone wants him to continue existing without hurting his heart or body. It seems that the transformation has completed and his personality suffers a great change. His magic is finally released, according to the Spider Queen he might no longer be human.

**Yuko's Shop **: Is the place where most of the storyline develops. This place also works as a residence to Yuko Ichihara. People residing the shop include: Yuko, Maru and Moro, Larg (Black Mokona) and Watanuki.

In _Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle,_ it is the place where Sakura, Syaoran, Kurogane and Fay meet for the first time.

The shop located in Tokyo, modern day Japan (According to CLAMP's Universe, other mangas developed in the same world/time would be Suki. Dakara Suki, Lawful Drug, Kobato and possibly CardCaptor Sakura.)

The store offers to grant wishes in exchange for a payment equal in value to the wish, it is a kind of reference point through worlds, which traditional design contrasts with the modern architecture of the contemporary buildings of the XXI century. However, this residence can only be seen by those who need help or by spirits and monsters of all kinds, especially the bad ones, as the house is protected by a kekkai, ie a spiritual barrier, which keeps these spirits away. In the eyes of those who do not have a deep desire for something, they will only see an abandoned empty field among other buildings adjacent to the presence of Yūko at the shop takes on a ghostly touch since it can always be seen the smoke of incense lit (both in the manga and anime), as well as the smoke from her kiseru, thereby showing the personal touch of the witch to the place.

The house is a shop where it occurs - converge - the inevitable, which is the fact of entering at the most desperate moment in life to ask for a wish and give in return -this is one of the most attractive points of xxxHOLiC series- something of equal value. "Nothing more, nothing less" as the rule says, which in most cases turns out to be the most valuable thing a person possesses. The stories take on a tinge of psychological terror in the plot, usually with a final dialogue or monologue of Yūko about the theme of the chapter.

The objects found there are not strange to Yuko, who knows their origin and the person they are intended for, but never says so; she doesn't reveal her true intentions waiting for the inevitable to happen.

The shop's existence is connected both to the fates of the characters in xxxHolic and Tsubasa. As Tsubasa's story advances, Yūko and Mokona see that the shop's wards are weakening. In chapter 157(xxxHolic), the wards of the shop collapse, revealing the shop completely. It is most likely this event which makes it possible for Fei Wong Reed to attack Yūko in chapter 183 of Tsubasa RESERvoir CHRoNiCLE. In chapter 167 (xxxHolic) the shop itself dissolves, but the Storage Room is unaffected, which leaves Yuko a chance to continue her plan.

It should be noted that Yuko stated that this shop was especially created for one purpose; "for the day which has to come" which was later revealed in Tsubasa-RC- to be the day when the Clones would have to be revived, because Yuko paid Sakura's new life with all the items she kept in the Storage Room; while Syaoran's new life was paid with Clow Reed's magic. Also because this is the room where she kept the tube containing Sakura and Syaoran Li, who she releases in the final arc of Tsubasa -RC-.

When Yuko dies, Watanuki decides to take over as the Owner, until he meets Yuko again. At first, when Watanuki took on his new role, he had trouble finding out the balance for the wishes, thus, he was hurt in the process. However, 10 years later he seems to understand the rules involving granting wishes, and he is hurt no longer.

**Keeva's twin sister, Hokuto:** if you haven't figured it out, this Hokuto is in fact the very same Hokuto Sumeragi from CLAMP's popular manga, Tokyo Babylon. Unlike some of my other stories, Keeva is not an oc from the real world; she's from one of the many dimensions that exist within the xxxHolic and Tsubasa Chronicles universe. In her dimension, Hokuto is her younger twin sister.  
**  
The dot/tattoo on Keeva's wrist that moves and spreads:** I thought that since damaging dimension will come with an extremely severe consequence, so I thought that the moment she activated that circle Keeva's body and soul were in instant danger of separating and completely vanishing. Keeva actually arrived at the Shop ten years in the future after Watanuki inherited it from Yuuko. By then Watanuki has become an extremely powerful wizard and he cast a spell on Keeva which held her together and then he sent her into the past to Yuuko. The problem is, is that the spell needs a constant recharge of magical power and when the spell starts to weaken, tattoo's slowly spread from the black spot on her arm as a warning and a time limit. If the tattoo spreads completely Keeva's soul and body will break away from each other and she'll vanish forever. As a solution, Watanuki sends her into the past to Yuuko who has an immense amount of magical energy


	3. Chapter 3

Dusting a shelf in a storage room wearing an apron, I observed Watanuki, with him wearing an apron as well, clean. Wow, he really was very good at it, even better than me. As he turned to look at me, I smiled, making him blush. We continued cleaning, as Yuuko-san, Maru and Moro watched us.

After a while of obediently cleaning, Watanuki started to complain, "Damn! Why is it always me that has to do these sorts of things! When was this place last cleaned! It pisses me off! Everything's badly organized as well!"

Yuuko-san, who was leaning against the door frame, spoke, "Even though you complain, you're really good at cleaning! And besides Keeva is also doing this as well, and look at her, she's not complaining~."

Maru and Moro than chanted, "Good at cleaning! Good at cleaning!"  
Watanuki then turned to Yuuko-san, and shouts, "While Keeva helps me, and is in the same place as me, why do I feel like you always treat her more fairly!"

While this happened, I sighed at being included, just wanting to get this over and done with.

Watanuki then shouted, "And besides, that's not the point! Why is this place so dirty!" I sighed, before turning to Yuuko-san, also wanting to know.

She then replies, "But this isn't just some place." She poses, and continues, " You have no vision, this is a place of treasures. Neh?" She finishes, striking a pose along with Maru and Moro, as they chant, "Lalalala~"

I smile at all the chaos happening, as Watanuki shouts at her, "Then what the hell is this? It doesn't look like a treasure to me!" He holds a pretty but weird-looking wing-like staff.

I look at it, and say, "Wow, it looks quite pretty, although albeit weird."

Yuuko-san than shouts in happiness, "You found it~" Hmm, seems like she really likes it, I wonder what it is?

She then explains what it is, saying, "It's used in magic. I wanted it for ages." Wow, it sounds cool, I voice my thoughts, making Yuuko-san grin happily.

Watanuki looks disbelieving at it, as he stutters, "Wha-, this c-can..." He face-plants at what she says next, "No, it's a fake. It lights up and plays music." She then demonstrated by, turning it on.

I face-palm at what she said. She got us all excited for nothing...

She then talks about its history, as me and Watanuki get back to cleaning. " The real thing was created by an evil man with no morals. He was also related to a cute girl." Hmm, sounds like she was close to him, judging by er far away tone.

As Watanuki voices my thoughts, she blanches, looking a bit angry, as she replies, "No, why would you think that?"

Deciding to focus on cleaning, and not listen, due to the long time it was taking,I continued dusting. This made me only actually hearing the last bit of their conversation.

Yuuko-san looked off dazed, as she spoke, "...should be here soon. It was around this time, even though it was different."

I stared at her confusedly, wondering who they were talking about I then looked at Watanuki, and he also looked confused.

Just then, the sound of the door opening flowed through the house. Yuuko-san cuffed Watanuki around the neck, and spoke "A customer."

As Yuuko-san and Watanuki went to greet the customer, I decided to prepare some tea, and snacks.

Turning the hot water on, and getting out some biscuits, I set it out on a plate. Putting tea leaves in a teapot, I poured the hot water. I then got out two cups, and a tray. Putting everything on it, I carried the tray to Yuuko-san's room.

However, it seemed it wasn't necessary as the guest walked past me. What was weird, was that there was something quite off about her. There was also black smoke trailing out of her hand, more specifically her pinky. She passed, and I sighed, I prepared the tea and snacks for no reason...

Oh well, I'll just give it to Yuuko-san anyway. As I walked in her room, I noticed that Watanuki, Maru and Moro were also in it. And Watanuki was looking strangely at his pinky, while Maru and Moro had a red string tied between their pinkies, as they smirked. Deducing their strange behavior came from the guest's wish, I shook it off, and walked to a smoking Yuuko-san.

She looked as elegant as always, even with something as disgusting as a pipe, although it was better than a cigarette, between her fingers. When she saw the snacks, she smiled happily, and cheered, "Yay~! Keeva brought snacks~!" While she spoke, Maru and Moro cheered, "Snacks! Snacks!"

As they devoured the snacks and tea, Watanuki still looked oddly at his pinky. I walked to him, and asked, "Something wrong?"

He looked at me, blushed at being caught doing something weird, and spoke, "No. But there was something odd with the guest that just left...black smoke came out of her. Especially, when she said she didn't have any bad habits..."

So he noticed as well, that's good, I thought I was going crazy. "Hmm, that's interesting, did Yuuko-san say anything, or give her anything."

Watanuki shook his head, replying, "Yuuko-san just asked her if she had any bad habits, and why pinkies were needed. But in the end, she did give out a ring..."

I hummed, and replied, "Well don't worry too much about it. We'll probably find out the problem soon."

Watanuki spoke, "Yes, maybe." He then walked to Yuuko-san, probably to scold her about eating snacks before dinner.

Next Day:

As I walked around the shop, I looked for Watanuki, wondering where it was. "Keeva, are you looking for Watanuki?" It was Yuuko-san.

I nodded, saying, "Do you know where he is?" She replied happily, "Yes, he's at school. Which is a shame, because I want some dumplings~!" "School? Oh right, he's only 15 after all. Sometimes he just seems older..."

Yuuko hummed, before smirking, as went closer to me, she then replied, "Really now, I always thought he acted younger than his age sometimes~ It doesn't really matter though, as your age does not have to exactly match your mentality..."

I hummed in agreement, before I spoke once again, "Anyway, school...how nostalgic. Anyway, Yuuko-san, I'll go make you some dumplings, but they might take some time... would you like tea as well?"

She hummed happily, saying, "Aww! You're the best Keeva! Can you prepare snacks as well?" I nodded, and spoke, "Alright, but Watanuki wouldn't be happy about you having snacks before a meal." She smirked, replying, "What he doesn't know, won't hurt him~ Well at least the fact that he doesn't know about the snacks, won't hurt him."

I looked at her oddly, and she smiled, and walked away, waving her hand, "I'm going to my room, bring the snacks there~"

"Okay, I'll be there in a second." I then went to the kitchen, and prepared the snacks and tea. Bringing them to Yuuko-san, she thanked me happily, and ate them.

Anyway now that I think about it, where's Maru and Moro, I wonder if they want to help me make some dumplings

I found them playing outside. "Hey Moro, Maru, do you want to help me make some dumplings?" They agreed happily, and chanted on the way to the kitchen, "Dumplings~! Dumplings~!" I giggled at their enthusiasm, and continued walking to the kitchen

A While Later:

The dumplings had been completed, and I was drained. I rolled my tense shoulders, and sighed in relief at the feeling. Maru and Moro went back to playing, since help was no longer needed. Now they were just getting steamed, and I was heading to Yuuko-san's room. Finding Watanuki there, I greeted him happily, "Watanuki, welcome back!" He nodded, while I turned to Yuuko-san, and spoke, "The dumplings will be done soon~!"

She smiled happily, and spoke, "Dumplings! Dumplings! I can't wait to eat them with sake!" Watanuki then started to scold her, "Yuuko-san! It's still early, it's only around 4 pm!"

She pouted, and replied, "But, but, Watanuki! I want sake!" I chuckled, while he sighed, and was about to reply, but the sound of the door opening interrupting him.

The guest from yesterday walked in, and Yuuko-san spoke, "Welcome." The woman looked at us, and spoke, "Sorry for interrupting, I didn't mean to come in again."

Yuuko-san replied, "Oh don't worry, it's okay. This was fated. You're wearing it." She directed the last bit to the ring on the woman's pinky. I remembered the dumplings, so I took this time to go back to the kitchen. I walked, but not without one last suspicious glance at the woman. Why did something seem so bad about her?

As I was in the kitchen, I checked the dumplings. They were perfectly cooked, and ready to be eaten. Taking them out, and wincing at the heat, I sighed at my stupidity. I shouldn't have touched the dumplings directly...

After getting some soy-sauce out, and setting the dumplings into a bowel, I walked to Yuuko-san's room. Noting that both the woman, and Watanuki was gone, I asked Yuuko-san where they were. She breathed into the pipe, and breathed out smoke. She then looked at me, and replied, "The woman won't ever come back, but Watanuki will come back soon."

I sighed at the answer, it didn't really answer my question. Oh well, I then presented the dumplings, making her grin. "Yay~ The dumplings are ready!" She then started to eat them, as I asked, "How about Maru and Moro? Do they want to eat as well?"

She smirked, and replied, "I believe you already know the answer to that." I sighed, my sixth sense, if I even had one, told me that they did not. "They don't need to eat at all do they?"

Her smirk grew bigger, and she replied, "Yes, and no. They do eat, but they don't eat." Confused, I asked her, "That doesn't make any sense." She just smiled at me, before looking dazed.

As I walked out of the room, saying, "Well I'm gonna go look for them, and see if they want to help me again, this time with cupcakes." She smiled, and spoke, "Yum~ Let's have them for dessert." I smiled back, and went out. Calling out for them, not really knowing where they are, I yelled, "MARU! MORO! Where are you?!" I heard giggles, and a reply of, "Find us! Let's play hide and seek."

I smiled, not having played that since a long time ago...how nostalgic, I remember playing it with my younger sister a long time ago...

I snapped out of my daze, and then concentrated on finding them. Going into the yard, I saw a tint of pink, and blue behind a tree. I smiled, and yelled out, "Oh my, I wonder where they are?! Maybe they're in the storage room?" Hearing giggles coming from the tree, my smile grew bigger, as I then said, "Or maybe their in the kitchen?"

The giggles grew louder, and I walked to them quietly, before peeking behind the tree, and saying, "Oh my, or maybe their here. I found you." They jumped, before erupting in louder giggles.

I then asked, "Now that I found you, would you like to help me again, this time with making cupcakes?" They smiled, and agreed, and followed me to the kitchen.

An Hour Later:

I smiled at our finished creation, along with Maru and Moro. We now had a batch of finished and decorated cupcakes~ Maru and Moro cheered, and chanted, "Finished cupcakes! Finished cupcakes!"

I smiled, and watched as they ran off, and left the cupcakes in the fridge to set. Cleaning my hands, and then wiping them with a cloth, I walked to Yuuko-san's room, wondering if Watanuki was back.

Hearing talking from Yuuko-san's room, I confirmed that Watanuki was back. As he left the room, I smiled, saying, "Welcome back again! Where were you." He grew somber, and said, "I was walking home, when I saw that woman, you know, the customer? After hearing some things, I found out she had a rather bad habit of lying...and when the black smoke came out, that was when she lied. After following her some more, and encountering a classmate, I saw her cross the road. She took off the ring, and the black smoke consumed became unable to move...and a truck hit her. I went with her in the ambulance, and I found out she's okay, so it's alright in the end." His voice went dark at the end, and I spoke, "So what bothers you?"

He glanced at me, and continued, "Before I left, Yuuko-san said that she won't come back ever again, so I think she knew this would happen. I think Yuuko-san can tell the future... I know it sounds strange but all the evidence points to it."

I smiled, and spoke, "I don't think it sounds strange, but the future is a very curious thing you know... not everything is set in stone. As time is all but a mystery..." We stayed in silence, before he spoke, "I need to go prepare dinner, would you like to help me?" I nodded happily, and spoke, "Yeah I want too! I also made cupcakes, so let's have that for dessert."

He smiled, and nodded, before I followed him to the kitchen. After we chatted, made dinner and ate, he left and went to bed. As I recounted the day's earlier events. I had a thought, as I recounted Watanuki's earlier words, 'I think Yuuko-san can tell the future...'

Hmm, being able to tell the future huh? If she can, I wonder if she can tell the past as well... maybe she knows how i came here in the first place... As I thought about that, soon sleep embraced me.

**-O-O-O-**

**SmileRen: I hope this is ok. Read and review please ^_^  
**


End file.
